How Publishers Risk Their Reputation: An Open Access Example

A couple of weeks ago, I’ve talked to a well-established and recognized scholarly publisher who proudly mentioned that the company now supports the publication of open access books. Last Friday, I was trying to access those titles, but I was unable to do so. It wasn’t possible to filter the publisher’s book portfolio by open access titles. Useful databases such as the DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books) or the independent open access content platform OAPEN didn’t show a hit.

It seemed the publisher’s understanding of open access is “not sellable as ebook”. That is unsustainable for the publishing house and very unsatisfactory for their authors who certainly expected better visibility for the research. But removing the paywall to the electronic version doesn’t automatically mean more visibility. Perhaps, even the opposite is true?

Some publishers take the easy road to open access; They keep back all traditional sales & discoverability channels, but miss to supply those channels appropriate to open access title. It’s my personal expectation that book authors won’t accept such a sloppiness for long. Renowned publishers are putting their reputation at risk if they fail to professionalize their dissemination and discoverability activities for open access books. For editorial, sales or marketing staff who’d wish to develop a sustainable expertise in open access publishing, DOAB and OAPEN are great places to start - today.

Ps. Are you working with other tools which make open access content better discoverable and accessable? Please share your suggestions in the comments or send me a direct message; I'll share a list of the world's best open access ressources next week.